Author and celebrity agent Melanie Blake tells ME & MY MONEY: 'I spend £150 a week on my hair so I never have to wash it myself'
24.04.2022 - 04:55
/ msn.com
What did your parents teach you about money? That I didn't want to live like them, in poverty. My dad was a printer who gave all his money to a fanatical Christian cult. My mum was a cleaner.
I grew up wearing charity shop clothes, getting food from food banks, living on benefits and free school meals. I was desperate to escape. I ended up homeless at 16 because I couldn't live in the family home any more – it was too stressful with all my parents' religious stuff.
I moved into a squat in Manchester and got several jobs, saving all the time so I could fulfil my dream of going to London and breaking into showbusiness. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I planned on getting absolutely loads of money – which I did. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? No.
From the moment I left home and arrived in London at 17, I didn't feel like I was struggling because it had been so awful at home. I had £1,500 – money I'd saved by working from the age of 12 – which felt to me like £1million. That kept me going as I applied for work at every single TV company I could find.
I spent a year and a half doing promotional work, handing out drinks at events and getting within touching distance of celebrities. But I was on the wrong side of the rope. Just as my savings were running out, I got a job as a camera assistant on Top Of The Pops.
There, I befriended various pop stars and actresses. I also started working as an extra on TV soaps. How did you make your fortune? I got to know Claire Richards from pop band Steps and Claire King from TV series Emmerdale.
They both liked my opinions about what could be done to make their careers even better. They decided to make me their manager at the same time. My life changed overnight.
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